- These two women have had a love, hate relationship.
- No. Oh.
- We had these two new females who were very different.
People loved Lita.
I was a bad guy and I was nasty to her.
When you're getting fat, I was making history.
- Simple storytelling.
Hot blond chick picking on the girl who doesn't look
like everybody else, it was super relatable.
- I have never seen two females in this environment.
- Trish Stratus faced Lita in the Main Event of Raw.
- It was absolutely unheard of for the females to be
in that position.
Lita had the worst luck, getting injured at the worst time.
- My rivalry with Trish was so heated, we always brought
out the best from each other.
- They were the beginning of the women's revolution.
- It would change the perception of what females can do
in this business
- They're beating the hell out of each other.
- It's all about the title, but I think it's about
a whole lot more.
- Trish versus Lita, the perfect rivalry.
- Just bring it, bitch.
- This rivalry has just escalated into a war.
- When two legends collide, their rivalry stays pinned
in our minds forever.
This is where we break down the legendary stories behind the
greatest rivalries of all time.
I'm Freddie Prinze Jr. and this is WWE Rivals.
- We're going go early 2000.
And Trish and Lita, when you saw what they were able to do,
everyone sat back and it was a holy crap type moment.
- Oh, my God.
Trish just sent Lita right though the table.
- But it didn't start that way.
There wasn't a lot of women's wrestling in WWE.
The women were considered valets.
- So, X-Pac being accompanied by Tori
- They were something to
look at, something to enjoy.
- There has always been some great women wrestlers
in this business.
They just didn't have the opportunity, because
that wasn't the role.
- The gorgeous Sable.
And there it is, folks.
The hottest selling Playboy issue ever.
- King, are you going to describe it?
What are you going to do?
Are you just going to sit here and look?
Say something.
- Shut up. I'm reading.
- It's because the women were represented as objects
of sexual attraction-
- 100%.
- -not wrestlers.
What was really cool and magical about these two women
converging in time is they took us from that point and got us to
a point where we were taking their performance seriously and
serious enough to be at the head of the table.
- Off the Record with a huge fan of the WWE, Trish Stratus making
her debut appearance on Off the Record.
Fitness model, you know her from the cover of Muscle Magazine.
- I remember Off the Record would talk about WWE a lot.
Trish Stratus, she was a regular on the show,
because she was in the fitness industry.
They would always bring her in for the WWE stuff too because
she was a wrestling fan.
- Who is the best woman in your mind?
We're talking, we're talking-
[crowd cheers]
- -ability with the microphone and talent.
- We'll take a vote I think.
[crowd cheers]
Me, I'm not in the wrestling.
[laughs]
I guess s a female, you didn't really think
that was a job opening.
It wasn't really an option.
I was this non-wrestler, this fitness model,
but I've been a fan of wrestling my whole life.
[crowd cheers]
- I grew up watching wrestling.
I went to Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto'
It was a real hotbed for wrestling.
- Unbelievable confrontation here
in Toronto's capacity house.
- So, I did not grow up watching wrestling.
It wasn't till I was in my early 20s that I first saw wrestling.
And at that time, I was competing in judo and then
I was also playing in bands.
And when I saw wrestling, I was like, "Oh, it's like being in a
band and competing in judo in one gig.
Maybe this is the job for me."
We're in my kitchen right now.
I want to show you guys all my masks I got in Mexico.
I was very drawn to the Lucha Libre style of wrestling.
- [Spanish language]
- I decided to go down to Mexico to try to break into
the world of Lucha Libre.
I got a little training there.
That's where I initially broke in.
- We had tryouts, looking for new talent in ECW.
She just looked against the prototype of what was
happening at the time.
There weren't a lot of women in this industry that had tattoos.
She was gorgeous to look at.
And at the same time, she was just supremely talented
and a very fast learner.
- Tilt-a-whirl flying head scissors.
- She had an opportunity to go to WWE.
And it was a golden opportunity.
- So, I was signed.
There wasn't really a plan in place.
They were like, "Yep, well, we'll figure it out"
And then like a month or two later, there's like
a giant announcement.
"WWE signs Trish Stratus."
And she's like the most beautiful woman you've ever seen
And like there's all this, like, fanfare.
I'm like, "I will never get on TV.
Like, my career is over.
It never started.
It's over."
- So, I signed with the company in 1999.
And I knew that there was another girl that had signed
as well, and that was Lita.
- I met Trish.
We were both the new kids.
I mean I didn't even make sense, like, competition from it,
because I was like "apples to oranges."
- Oh, look, we match.
We --
- We look cute, huh?
- We're both newbies coming into the company the same time.
And I got a little jealous, because she was
first to debut.
- Who's that lady at ringside?
- Lita at ringside looking on.
- Oh my goodness.
- They came up with the idea for me to be a partner with Essa
Rios and have an unconventional valet position and just to be
able to showcase my Lucha Libre roots.
- What's Lita doing?
What in the world?
- - Oh, my.
- Wow.
- Like, it was a dream debut for me.
- Lita had started.
- She's a high flyer.
- She's a hot tamale too. Woo hoo.
- She was doing stuff that the females had not done before.
It was not that long after that it was my turn to debut.
- Yeah, you know who that is.
- The rumors were true.
Trish Stratus is in the house.
- Test and Albert managed by Trish Stratus.
- I wanted to show them that I could wrestle,
but being in a valet role was totally fine for me to start.
- The name of her tag team was T & A.
Of course, Test and Albert.
- T for Test and A for Albert.
T & A.
- but it worked out, because she was also--
showing T & A.
- She put T & A together, didn't she?
- She certainly did.
- Oh ho.
- So, I was like, "Oh, my God,
because my talent and ability, right?
That's what it - No? Okay, cool."
- Oh, Trish has got Bubba's attention.
- Baby, mine too.
- Trish is shaking her money maker.
- Trish kind of had a much more glamorous look to her that
was more of a pinup model.
I think that Lita had a little bit more of a rebellious
attitude and was a reflection of you know the rock and roll
youth at the time.
- They decided they wanted to put me with the Hardy Boyz and
Team Xtreme was born.
- Matt and Jeff Hardy, Lita, Team Xtreme.
- Here comes Lita coming out with the Hardys, doing
incredible moves.
- Lita taking those chances just like the Hardy's.
- She's doing that in matches.
Who could she do that with on a consistent basis?
And there was Trish raising her hand like, "Hello, right here."
- For the first time ever, Trish Stratus is going to compete
in a wrestling match.
Trish Stratus, T & A against Matt and Jeff,
The Hardy Boyz and Lita.
- This is not really fair, because Lita
is a trained wrestler.
Trish is not.
- And Trish and Lita, a little bit of trash talking going on.
And Lita with a shove to the face of Trish.
- In the story of the Hardy Boyz versus Test and Albert,
it was just another step.
But the most intriguing part of that match was how Lita and
Trish were going to mix it up.
And when they did, it was good.
- Trish and Lita really paired up well together.
- Oh. Uh-oh.
- Lita has Trish.
- It was new. It was fun to watch.
There was a sexiness to it.
[crowd cheers]
- Trish and Lita very early on are in these matches.
They're being put on the level of what was expected
from the male performers.
[crowd cheers]
- Trish is in.
Wait a minute.
My God.
- What is this?
- It's a triple suplex.
- No.
[crowd cheers]
- Test and Trish up and over.
- Oh my God, I don't think I've ever seen that.
- She came up sort of more the traditional way with sort of, uh
through the ranks and independent wrestling.
- Lita from the second rope.
Oh, man.
- I knew that I was capable and it was just a matter of getting
the opportunity and getting the chance to prove myself.
- Whoa, JR, bra.
- [chuckles] I see it.
- It's a beautiful bra too.
- I've seen a bra once before.
- It's gold!
- Oh man.
All of a sudden, these two were exchanging blows and moving.
It was a completely different game.
- In every business, there's going to be a formula.
- Bulldog.
Oh.
- So, you got to kind of see what's worked in the past and
add your own elements to that.
- What is Lita going to do?
- Can Lita reach Trish in the middle of the ring?
- Fans were starting to come there to see Lita and Trish.
The company started to see that and once they brought in all
those other women, that's when it really started to pick up.
- All these other women started coming in, who have experience
from other places.
Victoria, Jazz, you know Molly Holly.
That's when you start having the growth of the women's division.
Trish and Lita really knew that they could take the ladies'
division to a space that they weren't in yet.
- We both felt ready.
We're like, "We can do this. We're going to carry it.
It's time."
- Lita and Trish.
They're beating the hell out of each other, King.
- Get help.
- In WWE at this point-
- Whoa. Look out.
- -the women's division is in a completely different place than
it was even months before that.
- Trish has done it.
Trish Stratus is the new women's champion.
- You know, I'm chasing the belt.
I mean I could still be a valet right now and not even be
at this level.
And I'm here and I'm out there trying my best.
And they're behind me a hundred percent.
It's a fabulous feeling.
I'm very thankful to be where I am.
- Block it.
- With my foot?
Your foot.
- Yes.
- Give me an elbow.
- Trish was concentrating on getting better.
- Hit her with a flipper.
Bang.
You hit the ropes, now you're going to clothesline Molly.
You'll just follow through.
- You could see that as you watched her evolve in the ring.
- Both are fan favorites, but they've got
a real competitive rivalry.
- But at the same time, Lita was getting new opportunities and
she's going to be on Dark Angel, which was a big show
with Jessica Alba.
- Drop out of it and cross over to here.
Working with Lita, it's been very intricately choreographed
to incorporate some of her WWE moves, and we have no idea if
we're going to be able to get it all done.
We're going to do our best, though.
- Things are going great for Lita and all that momentum
immediately stops.
- Take one.
Let's go.
- I seriously injured my neck while performing a stunt
on the set of Dark Angel.
We were practicing to do the hurricanrana.
The girl fell as I was swinging through, which made me as I
swinging just driving my head right into the ground.
- The disc is torn and ruptured and also you have some fractures
in your spine.
We can see it here and here and here and here.
- There's this massive, massive down moment
when the surgery's done and what happens is, you have that slow
realization that,
"Oh man, my spot's not waiting
for me and I'm starting from scratch."
- That pressure has to just be insane.
The women basically got a match to do and the men filled out the
rest of the show, so that puts an added amount of pressure
on here because it's not like, "Okay, I won't be in the
championship storyline.
They'll give me something else."
No, there's nothing else.
It has to breed insecurity.
It has to.
- Yeah, this injury has had a really huge effect on my
self-esteem, my self-confidence.
I mean, I just don't feel like myself.
I can't do any of the things that I did before I hurt myself.
There's always just that element, like you never know
what's going to happen when you come back or if you're going
to come back.
It was so painful to sit at home, not being able to do what
I love and watching people just running with it.
- Tell you what, this is an amazing testament to the will
to win by both these women.
- When Lita got injured, it came at a time where things were
starting to rock and roll for the women.
- Look at that.
Oh, beautiful.
- Connected with the bulldog.
- Beautiful.
- What a counter. Will this be?
The hook of the leg.
- She got her.
- She did it.
- We got a new champion, JR.
- And I was the women's champion,
so it was a, you know, huge responsibility.
I love this moment.
I love this.
I love- this.
WWE gave me the ball and I was like, "All right, let's go."
- Seems like we say it every week, but every week she
just gets better and better.
- It was great, Trish.
- Thank you.
- In the year plus that I was gone healing my neck injury.
Trish has just solidified that top spot.
- The match is over and Trish is defenseless here.
- I'm watching Raw.
Trish is in the ring taking a beating.
She's about to be beheaded by a chair.
- Trish is absolutely helpless here lying on that chair.
- [chuckles]
- Hey, it's Lita.
- It's Lita.
- All of a sudden, here comes Lita.
- Lita is back.
- It just made her so much more of a hero because she
really like prevailed and overcame everything,
even a neck injury, which a lot of people
don't even come back from.
- Oh a Powerbomb.
A Lita-bomb.
- When I came back, I was paired with her and it was kind of nice
Now I can enjoy all of the hard work you've done
for the past year.
All of the hard work that all of these women have done getting
on TV because now I'm back.
And so we can all play ball.
- What a combination Lita and Trish Stratus make.
- There would be different people who identified with us.
There were something would resonate with Lita fan or with
a Trish Stratus fan.
- I was such a fan of Trish Stratus growing up.
She was such a badass, such a beautiful woman
that I was just like, "I want to be her."
- I 100% related to Lita.
I loved her vibe.
I loved her energy.
I loved her estatic.
I love the way she moved in the ring.
She was fearless.
She was a daredevil.
- Lita and Trish were every bit as popular as any
of the men wrestlers.
- I do too.
- Seeing Lita and Trish together.
Well, yeah, you're happy at the moment, but what you really
want to do is to see them fight.
- Wait a minute.
Hey, Hey.
- Look.
Look at this.
- Oh, Trish just pinned Lita.
Well, you're looking at the only five-time Women's Champion
in WWE history.
- Trish Stratus who had been so beloved was now constantly
taking out her anger on Lita.
- While you were out and getting fat, I was making history and
winning championships.
- The movie Mean Girls was incredibly popular at this time.
The sweet redhead bullied by the blond bombshell and that's
exactly what played out.
- Weeks over weeks of me attacking her self-esteem.
I was a bad guy and I was nasty to her.
As a friend, I'm just telling you look a little chubby.
- Simple storytelling, hot blond chick picking on the girl
who doesn't look like everybody else.
I knew people in high school like that because
I felt like Lita.
It was super relatable.
- Lita above everything else is a loser.
- These paths have to cross.
This is a perfect storm situation.
- This rivalry between these two women has to be a match because
we have to pay this off.
- Every ounce of pain and suffering welling up inside
of me, Trish.
I'm going to take it all out on you.
- We have been waiting a long time for Lita to get her hands
on Trish Stratus.
It is so deeply personal here with these two.
- The fans were just like, "Oh my God.
When she gets her hands on Trish Stratus.
It is going to be something."
- Trish and Lita raised the stakes to take a women's
feud to new heights.
- Oh, no.
- Trish goes face first into that steel chair.
- I thought it was so cool that they were willing to take it to
the extent they did and bring out weapons.
- Lita is hammering.
Lita hammering Trish,
and the referee has just called for the bell.
- Survivor Series 2004, the match ends by disqualification
because Lita hits Trish with a chair.
- Look at this now.
Oh my gosh.
- The referee had no choice.
Oh my God.
Trish is bleeding.
- The image of seeing Trish Stratus' bloody face after being
hit by a chair from Lita was not anything we had seen between
women before in WWE.
- Carnage knows no gender.
- Look at Trish.
Her nose is bleeding.
Her nose may be broken.
- Her nose, her face all busted up.
I have never seen-
- Oh no.
- two females in anything resembling this
environment in my career.
- I had a bloody face.
She was pissed.
The fans wanted it so badly, and so by the time our next match
came, it was epic.
- We are live here on Monday Night Raw,
Charlotte, North Carolina.
- I will never forget that night in Charlotte.
Trisha and I walk in to the building and everyone is smiling
at us that's passing us, and we're like, "That's weird.
Something's happening here."
- There's a board there that outlines the card and we were
listed as the main event.
People were like, "Oh, man, congratulations."
We were like, "What's happening?"
It just was unheard of.
It was absolutely unheard of for the females to be
in that position.
- You know what I did last week?
It's nothing compared to tonight.
- I know.
It was too much at first because I thought,
"Gosh, we have such a huge responsibility for us."
They were giving us this moment.
- They got to headline Monday Night Raw in a time where that
simply did not happen for women.
- We had to not only deliver, and you have to over deliver,
And that was the only way we could be given
more opportunities.
And so here was a lot of pressure to have perfection
involved in these opportunities to get the next one.
- The main event spot was for the most popular men in the
company to have matches.
The Rock, Austin, John Cena, Triple H.
So when that all of a sudden becomes Trish Stratus and Lita,
it signaled to the audience, these women are the real deal.
- That spot was earned and it was earned on their rivalry and
the fact that the fans desperately wanted to see it.
- When it was told to everyone that the main event was going to
be Lita versus Trish, I got choked up.
I was like, "I cannot believe this is happening.
This is what we've been wanting for so long, to be valued
as equal with the men.
And now, they have this opportunity to prove
what they can do."
- I was sitting ringside in 2004 as a senior in high school
seeing history been made in the main event of Raw.
- Trish Stratus, the Women's Champion still suffering from
the effects of the broken nose that she suffered at the hands
of Lita at the Survivor Series.
- We were at the top of our game.
Our priority was to deliver to the fans, but we also wanted to
deliver to everyone in the office that knew that
we could do this.
- And it's all about the title.
But I think it's about a whole lot more.
- Oh, look at that matrix move.
- Nice athleticism.
Right into that pinning combination.
- Oh, no.
- The elevation of the back body drop over the top rope
all the way to the floor.
- There is a backstage monitor that's for talent to view
what's happening.
And everybody wanted to see what were they going to do.
Were they going to be able to pull this off?
- Look out. Look out.
Oh my gosh.
- A head first dive.
- I had wanted to do the dive to the outside.
I had to make this downward trajectory at Trish and
then I just heard the gasp from the crowd.
- Seeing her land like that scared the crap out of me.
And it just looked so bad.
Her heels were touching the back of her head and I couldn't
believe that she was even attempting this dive.
- Trish started absorbing the impact before I fully collided
with her giving me nothing to dive into except the ground.
- She just lands face first.
Her feet go touch the ground at the same time as her nose.
It was so scary.
Even without the fact that she already had
a pretty serious neck injury.
- I can't believe that Lita is back in the ring
and back on her feet.
- I couldn't believe she got back up and continued.
- Wait a minute.
Trish is taking off that protective mask.
Look out.
- She used that protective mask as a weapon.
There's not a damn thing wrong with her nose.
- And superplex.
Not this.
No.
- Oh the superplex.
Two beautiful women crashing and burning all for the sake
of the women's title.
- Knowing that women were capable
of that was just inspiring.
[crowd cheers]
- Get up, Trish.
- Lita, what's she doing here?
- Get up, Trish.
Get up, Trish.
[crowd cheers]
- Lita's got no business up here.
It's all or nothing.
- Oh.
- All or nothing on that moonsault.
The moonsault.
The hook.
- Oh.
- The three.
[bell rings]
- By God, Lita did it.
Lita did it, King.
- Here is your winner, and the new WWE Women's Champion, Lita.
- I can't believe the effort, the heart both women displayed.
Definitely, if I had to pick out one moment of my career that
I felt the most satisfied, it would have been stepping back
through the curtain after that match and the entire locker room
is there, like, congratulating us.
- Our fellow wrestlers were excited for Lita and Trish,
because they knew that they had earned the spot
through their work.
When they put them in the main event slot for
that Monday Night Raw,
[claps]
the guys were cheering for them.
- The work we had done took us to that moment,
and to share it with Lita was extra special the fact that we
got to do that together and we'll always have
that moment now between us.
- They were prepared when the moment came for them.
And that's why they succeeded.
- It was a huge win to see that happening.
And then, like, that kinda cracking
the door open for more.
- And did you see yourself in that position in that moment?
- Hell, yeah. Hell, yeah.
- [laughs]
- For them to compete in the main event of Monday Night Raw
was a statement that they had arrived.
Not only did they absolutely tear the house down with their
match, but the ratings reflected how much the audience cared,
how much they were interested in this match.
And it was a turning point in the evolution
of the women's division.
- I can't believe the effort, the heart both women displayed.
- Trish and Lita main evented Raw.
In wrestling, when you see a match that draws
that kind of reaction,
there's only one thing to do.
Do it again.
- One of the most anticipated rematches in the women's
division that I can ever remember.
- This is exactly what we were working towards,
you know the main event of Raw and then you know hitting that
milestone and then just moving into this rivalry that everyone
coveted to see us together and really face off at this moment.
- Lita maneuvering Trish right to the ropes and
right to the floor.
Wait a minute, Lita.
Don't-
- Here we go.
I told you she would do it.
- Really early on, I do a Thesz press off
the apron onto the ground.
And I remember landing, cursing and Trish saying,
"Are you okay?"
And all I kept saying was, "Give me a minute."
Because the answer is no, but I didn't want to say no.
So we get back in the ring, and I try to stand up and I can't.
I mean, there's just nothing I can do.
- Lita can't even stand up.
- Can't even stand right there.
- I was going to win that night.
So our finish had to be changed on the fly.
- And this does not bode well for the champion.
- Lita knew that she was seriously injured,
so you had to make a switch.
You have the opportunity right there to do it.
You just do what you have to do.
- Lita's leg gave away again.
A hook of the leg.
And that's it.
[bell rings]
- Trish regains the title.
- I ended up becoming champ at that point.
Lita had the worst luck at getting injured
at the worst time.
- In the moment, you have to make decisions to do the best
that you can do to do the business that you were
set out to do.
- All you know is you screwed up the finish.
They don't care about you.
It's like I screwed up the finish.
- Lita's face really tells the story better than we can.
She was out a year with a neck injury.
And now, we don't know how long she may be out with this.
- It's the only time I've never been able to finish a match.
When they're like, "Oh, you tore everything in your knee, ACL,
MCL, meniscus all at once."
Then I was like, "Crap.
This means I'm out for a really long time."
A really, really devastating injury for me.
- Lita has had some massive injuries.
I feel like the elephant in the room when it comes to injuries
and what we do is when people say,
"Hey, you'll pick right back up."
It's not-- That's not true.
Sometimes, people don't come back the same.
Sometimes, the opportunity has completely passed.
- Yeah, yeah.
- When she comes back, it's going to be a whole new thing.
- One of the best things about WWE is that you can have a
rivalry repeat itself but feel completely different because
the roles are reversed.
When Lita went away for a while due to injury and came back in
2005, she was a different version of Lita.
She's now in a relationship with Edge who is one of the worst
guys in the business at the time.
- Just when you think you've got life all figured out and you
know just that path you're gonna take, it can all change.
- Her being the type of good it's guy she was for so long,
hard to get fans really hating you.
But, I think you have to go all in.
You can't just go half assed.
You can't be scared to make the people hate you.
And that's really what she had to do.
She just had to go all in.
- That is one cold-hearted woman right there.
- She's enjoying every single second of this guys.
- Once she started playing this role of this evil woman that
just didn't care about anybody else,
they just wanted to hate her.
- You want know what Edge's problem is, maybe it's having to
take a backseat to a no talent slut like you.
- They were able to pull you in with something different.
This time, Lita is the bad guy.
- Oh, my.
- But Trish is not going to back down from Lita,
I'll tell you that.
- Watch Edge. He's got a hold her.
- Good guy, bad guy, we could swap the roles.
- Oh, no.
What a spear by Lita.
Taking a page out of Edge's playbook.
- At this point, it seems like the rivalry is going to start
heating up all over again.
- Oh, look at this.
- Here we go.
- The Air Canada there,
and Trish hammering away at Lita.
- But in 2006, Trish gets to kind of a crossroads
in her career.
- 2006, I was faced with a decision of continuing
my contract or not.
My mom had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma at the time.
So it was a tough decision because at this point,
obviously, we are at the highest point
we could be in the women's division.
Even our female demographic has increased.
We've got more kids watching that are women and girls,
and they're looking up to us as role models who are like strong,
powerful women.
It's really empowering to be in that position.
But I felt fulfilled.
I really felt good and so when my mom got diagnosed with that,
I just knew that was-- it was a sign from the universe.
It's time.
It's just time.
- I guess it's true that Trish is indeed going
to retire from WWE.
- Thank you for coming on this amazing, awesome ride.
- I was crying.
I couldn't believe that Trish Stratus was retiring.
- Trish was the number one woman in pro wrestling,
but at this point, Lita wins the women's championship again.
- Lita won the women's championship.
Then I got a call from Vince and he said, "Well, we're going to
be in Toronto and I think that would be a great place for you
to have a retirement match.
I was like, "Oh my gosh. Yes. Okay."
One last time, one last match.
Trish and Lita for the women's championship.
What do you say?
- Okay, so at Unforgiven in your hometown?
It's on.
- As a good friend of mine used to say,
"Just bring it, bitch."
- We welcome you, ladies and gentlemen, live to Toronto,
Canada, for the ninth annual extravaganza
known as Unforgiven.
- My retirement match, it would be in my hometown.
It would be against Lita and it would be for
the woman's championship.
We knew what the crowd was feeling.
It was something that was palpable in the arena.
- It couldn't have been written better you know in her hometown.
For us to be able to wrestle together.
- Trish Stratus' hometown here tonight in Toronto.
Fans anxiously await her arrival.
- Trish's retirement match and, you're already
grinning and smiling.
What were you going through when you saw her?
- I was mad because I was just on the cusp, just on the cusp of
getting into WWE and I'm like, "Trish is leaving. No."
That was one of my dream matches.
Somebody that I wanted to compete against.
- Oh, Beth Phoenix.
- But at the same time, hey, it takes a lot of self-awareness
to be able to walk away when you are at the pinnacle
of your career.
Trish knew, "I want to leave on top."
[Trish Stratus' music plays]
- And introducing the challenger, Toronto's own,
Trish Stratus.
- What an amazing ovation.
A standing ovation from over 16,000 fans for
Trish Stratus' last match.
Trish can break the record and become the first-ever
seven-time champion.
- That would be a Hollywood type ending.
That would be something -
[bell rings]
- that movies are made of.
- It's such a special thing, creating these moments between
two characters that you know were so dynamic and so diverse.
- These two women have had a love-hate relationship since
they first crossed passed in 2000.
- The chemistry that they had was just-- you don't get that
all the time.
I want to have a rivalry like that.
- Whirly bird action here.
- We always brought out the best from each other from day one.
We have really strong telepathy while we're punching
each other in the face.
- Hammering each other here in a real precarious position,
Oh my God.
- That night we get to go out there and remind
ourselves why we do this.
- This is a slugfest.
- Oh, this is great.
What a match this is.
- My final moment was with Lita and we got to do our
magic out there.
- Oh, wait a minute.
Wait a minute- JR, look at this.
- You got to be-- wait a minute here.
- JR.
- Sharpshooter.
- That's a sharpshooter.
- Sharpshooter. The crowd's on their feet.
The crowd's going crazy. The sharpshooter.
Trish has got the sharpshooter on the champion.
- Lita is desperately trying to get to the rope to save herself,
but Trish has it locked in.
- That hold is as Canadian as Canadian can get.
It's over.
It's over and Trish wins with the sharpshooter.
- Here is your winner by submission and the new WWE
Women's Champion, Trish Stratus.
- What an ovation and rightfully so in her last match.
- A storybook ending to have my retirement match against my
all-time rival, Lita, in my hometown of Toronto in front of
my family and friends.
I mean, a dream.
It's just been a long journey to get here and it's rewarding just
to come and be in my hometown and have that love and to leave
with this seven-time champion.
It's a dream come true.
- I was just honored to be Trish's last match.
Our paths have just paralleled each other's for so long,
and because I did feel satisfied with my accomplishments- -
Competing in her final match, Lita.
- -I think this chapter for now-
- Oh, DDT.
- -has come to an end.
- She hits the DDT.
- Did it.
She did it.
- Mickie James beats Lita on Lita's farewell match.
- Trish retired and then Lita followed her,
and then that's - that's the end of an era.
- Lita, just moments ago you lost to Mickie James,
a lot of people retire and then eventually come back.
Are you retired for good or will we ever see you wrestle again?
- You know, I feel like it's the first day of the rest of my life
and I don't see it her anytime soon.
That's all I can say.
- They were really gone, but then the women's division
completely changes in WWE.
You have this revolution where all of a sudden female
superstars are treated with the respect that they deserve.
- For the first time ever, women will step foot inside
Hell in a Cell.
- Tonight we make history.
The first ever women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
- From Lita and Trish making an impact in a way that women had
never done before to evolve into the women's division where
everyone is a superstar.
That is an incredible accomplishment.
For the very first time, an all women's Royal Rumble match.
- The opportunity came for the first ever Woman's Royal Rumble
and I remember I got the call and I called Lita and I was
like, "Oh my God, are we doing this?"
- For the first time ever, 30 women will compete
in a Royal Rumble Match.
- Hello.
- I missed you.
- This is awesome.
- Anytime there's something special that is particular
to the women, you can't not invite Trish.
You can't not invite Lita.
They're dignitaries in what they brought to it.
- No.
Oh, my God.
- I love it.
- We had to do this, you know but God, those girls are really
good and we haven't been in the ring in so long.
Back in the day, we went out there trying to change the
perception of women's wrestling and what women
could do in the ring.
We're taking the past and present and we're melding it.
It's been a minute since I've been around,
but I see the significance.
- So much respect in those locker rooms because a lot
of the girls that are there now were Trish fans or Lita fans.
They were fans of that generation,
which inspired them to be wrestlers.
- Lita is number one where I was like, "If she's in it, I'm going
to lose my mind because she was my freaking hero.
I wanted to be exactly like her.
Then Trish, of course, because of their storylines together.
Literally you and Trish are the reason where I was like,
"Dude, we can so do that and that's why we're doing it."
Now we all get to experience it together, it's freaking.
It's so crazy.
- All right, here we go guys.
Good. Three, two, and one.
Good.
- It's too much?
- That's exactly what it is.
- I'm super excited, but I'd say I'm maybe a little more nervous
than I am excited.
I don't want to ruin the Royal Rumble.
It's the first ever, if you haven't heard.
- The following contest is the first ever 30-woman
Royal Rumble Match.
[Lita's music plays]
- Oh yeah.
A four-time women's champion.
- Just to pop in there and be able to mix it up with these
current women that are just killing it.
- You got to be kidding me.
- Double Litasault.
- Do you hear this?
- You still got it.
- There goes Tamina.
- Eliminated by Lita.
- Look out.
No.
- Eliminated by Becky Lynch.
- Let's make the most of every single day that we're here
from now until we're not.
[Trish Stratus' music plays]
- Perhaps the greatest tell WWE Women's Champion of all time.
- We are just so excited to like, first of all, still be
thought of to come back and do this
and you know get back in the mix.
- Natalya eliminated by Trish Stratus.
- And then later on we ended up in the first ever
all women's pay-per-view.
Evolution happened and we did a tag team there.
- Lita up top with the Litasault to both Mickie and Alicia.
Now Trish Stratus with the Chick Kick.
Mickie James is down.
Stratus into the cover.
- and Trish win.
[bell rings]
- Tagging together at Evolution, you get to have this
special moment, but you get to have it with your friend.
- The Attitude Era is back in shiny bright for one night only,
Lita and Trish.
- That's how we do it in the Attitude Era.
- [chuckles]
Yeah.
- I look at them as besties.
- Yeah.
- When I see them, they're one and the same.
- You realize how special your bond was when you leave
the business and you still stay connected, right?
The fact that we stayed best friends through all that.
She became my son's godmother because we shared
so much together.
We shared a whole lifetime together.
- It's so crazy though that it's like two years of FaceTiming--
- I know.
We're finally here -
-and then we finally-- And what?
- I don't know.
- We still have the telepathy.
- Yes.
- She's my bestie.
We're a part of each other's family.
- Me and you.
We have been through so much together.
You know what I'm saying?
I mean, think of the history, you know?
Trish and Lita.
- Lita and Trish both transcend.
If Trish Stratus and Lita
walked through the airport, you knew who they were.
They were stars.
- The most important rivalry in women's wrestling history
because if that's not successful,
they get set back years.
- No.
- Oh, the superplex.
- They're two of the pillars on which these young
ladies today stand.
- I personally have gratitude because if that opportunity had
not succeeded like it had, there's no Beth Phoenix.
They changed everyone's minds and opened doors for
a whole new generation and inspire all of us.
- These two women have battled so many times.
They have taken the rivalry to a new level.
- Trish, Lita rivalry will always be held as a benchmark,
especially with looking at today's standard
of women's wrestling.
- It's a really special time and I'd like to think that the work
we did back in the day, it's the spark that started a wildfire.
- Oh, my God.
What a moonsault.
- We were able to go out there and show people that this is
what we can do and we can deliver.
- This is a rivalry unlike any other.
- Together we changed the perception of what females
can do in this business.